The present invention relates to a head lamp for a vehicle, and more particularly, to a head lamp for a vehicle, capable of displaying a vehicle width line of a vehicle.
In general, a vehicle is provided with various lamps for illuminating various areas around and within the vehicle. These lamps allow a driver to easily identify objects within the periphery of the vehicle when the vehicle is driven at night, and provide a signal function that informs other drivers or persons around the vehicle of a driving state of the vehicle. For example, a head lamp, a fog lamp, and the like are mainly provided for the purpose of providing light, and a turn signal lamp, a tail lamp, a brake lamp, a side marker, and the like are provided for the purpose of signaling.
In general, as the lamp for a vehicle, a light source such as a halogen lamp or a high intensity discharge (HID) is commonly used. Recently, however, as the light source, light emitting diodes have started to be used which have a color temperature of about 5,500 K, which is close to a color temperature of sun light, so as to reduce eye strain that causes fatigue. In addition, light emitting diodes minimize the size of the lamp that is required thus increasing the degree of design freedom of the lamp, and also increasing the economic efficiency because light emitting diodes typically have a semi-permanent lifespan.
In particular, light emitting diodes are help to reduce the complexity of the head lamp, increase the lifespan of the light source and are much smaller in size, thus being able to be used in must smaller spaces. Thus, when a light emitting diode is used, one or more light emitting diodes may be used in order to irradiate light in each beam pattern and secure a sufficient quantity of light.
Meanwhile, when the vehicle is driven at night, there may be a case in which the vehicle passes through a narrow alley, passes through a narrow width between the vehicles, or is parked in a narrow parking lot. When the driver is inexperienced in driving the vehicle, or the driver does not have a proper understanding of the width of the vehicle that is being driven by the driver, there is a high possibility that a minor collision will occur when the driver drives the vehicle in narrow environments.
For example, as illustrated in FIG. 1, in a case where a bicycle, a motorcycle 20, or the like is driven at the periphery of a road, when the driver intends to pass the corresponding bicycle or the motorcycle 20 but miscalculates the vehicle width of a host vehicle 10, the vehicle may unintentionally come into contact with or collide with the bicycle and the motorcycle 20, and as a result, there is a likelihood that an accident causing injury to the bicyclist or motorcyclist will occur.
In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 2, when a plurality of vehicles are parked in a narrow space, when the driver miscalculates the vehicle width of the host vehicle or the driver erroneously and unreasonably drives the vehicle to pass through a narrow space in a process in which the host vehicle 10 passes close to an oncoming vehicle 30, there is a possibility that a minor collision will occur between the host vehicle 10 and the oncoming vehicle 30 or other stopped vehicles 40.
In general, minor collisions make up a major part of the vehicle accidents, and a major reason for the minor collision is that the driver erroneously calculates the vehicle width of the host vehicle. Therefore, a countermeasure, which allows the driver to easily identify and comprehend the vehicle width of the vehicle that is being driven by the driver, is required.
Furthermore, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the host vehicle 10 may be unintentionally change lanes from a traffic lane in a driving path L1 on which the host vehicle 10 is driven, and this may lead to a serious accident. Particularly, when the vehicle is being driven at night, due to various reasons such as driving while drowsy, the driver may not maintain the driving path on which the vehicle is driven. Therefore, it is necessary for the driver to immediately be notified when the vehicle is biased to one side of the driving path or the vehicle crosses over the traffic lane.